Austria makemakes it straight to the final

There’s something special about representing your country on home turf, an honor this year being bestowed upon the Makemakes from Austria.

What makes the perfect entry for a host country is a tricky question, but we dare to say the Austrians have come pretty close with their choice. The broadcaster doesn’t want to risk the chance of hosting the event again, but they don’t want to be laughed at either. So the song should be nice, solid and presentable, safe without being too boring, worthy without being too good. The artist should not be too green or too eager, but cool, laidback and confident without seeming arrogant. It’s also important to pick a strong live performer to avoid the Didrikgate we had to suffer through in Oslo five years ago.

With all this in mind we think the Austrians chose wisely. I Am Yours is a pleasant, hum-along friendly number with just enough soul and edge to avoid falling in the forgettable featherweight category. The Makemakes are a likable bunch, three hipsters with ugly hats, unruly hair and ironic facial hair. We bet they have spent quite a lot of time curating this truly special, casual image, and are pretty pleased with the result. It makes us wanna pat them on the head and pinch them in the cheek.

The funny thing about hipsters of course being the fact that in their relentless strive to be unique they end up looking exactly the same, so the band doesn’t really engage us that much, but setting the grand piano on fire really helps. And the lead singer is cute, and that’s always a plus in our book. Taking a look at their bio at Eurovision.tv we also find it charming how they feel the need to stress the fact that they are real. As oppose to all the made-up fantasy figures and unicorns they are competing against, we can only assume. Moreover, they reveal that their lucky routine before they go on stage is to gurgle gasoline. And here we are thinking Austrians don’t have a sense of humor, shame on us. We only hope the blokes are careful around that burning piano. Those bios are a goldmine, we’re telling you.

We’re convinced The Makemakes will cut the mustard and do the hosts proud. Which will mean a mission well accomplished.

This site is written by Guri Idsø Viken and Astrid Foldal from Norway. We are both communications professionals and writers and have shared our passion for Eurovision for years. We both grew up in the beautiful middle of nowhere, and as kids, the annual Eurovision final was their only share ... Continue reading →